MESOP FACING KOBANI : NOW ANKARA ALSO FEARS ISIL = PANDORA’S BOX IS OPEN

Turkey in state of alarm against ISIL attacks in big cities

TODAY’S ZAMAN / ANKARA – As reports of members of the terrorist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) being seen in various parts of the country appear in the media, the Intelligence Unit of the Security General Directorate (EGM) has issued a warning for all the 81 provinces to be on guard against 22 bomb-loaded vehicles under ISIL control in Turkey, a news portal said on Thursday. “Information that there are 22 bomb-loaded vehicles, most of which are vans, are being looked into [by the police],” the T24 news portal said.

According to the report, it is also estimated that in Turkey there are 30 ISIL terrorists who may be suicide bombers.In its warning letter sent to governors’ offices, the EGM said the terrorist organization wants to attract supporters through propaganda in mosques and that it may carry out bomb attacks in big cities.It is feared that ISIL, which recently changed its name to the “Islamic State,” may have established cells in Turkish cities that may engage in terrorist acts, should Turkey take a step against the terrorist organization.

“In the letter that was sent to all provinces, it was said ISIL was trying to enlarge its sphere of influence in mosques particularly in Ankara, Konya and İstanbul,” the report said. It was also noted that regulars of Hacı Bayram Mosque in Ankara were not happy with members of ISIL who are active around the mosque. “Upon receiving the letter, police increased security measures around Hacı Bayram Mosque in Ankara, Sultanbeyli district in İstanbul and Konya,” the report said. Hundreds of Turkish citizens are believed to be fighting among the ranks of ISIL in Syria.According to the report, the police keep associations through which the terrorist organization gathers new members in Turkey under surveillance. The report said two groups, one directed by İ.A. in Ankara and another by M.G. in Konya are on the radar of the police.

The police found out that ISIL keeps cell houses in cities on and near the Syrian border such as Hatay, Adana, Gaziantep, Kilis, Şanlıurfa, İstanbul and Mersin.Nearly 4,000 Kurds who fled the recent ISIL attacks against Kurdish villages in Syria were allowed into Turkey on Friday. As Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had said on Thursday, Turkey aimed to accommodate those who were waiting on the Syrian side of the border, but no Syrians Kurds were allowed to pass the border until noon on Friday.However, after a Kurdish woman was wounded when she stepped on a mine on the border while Turkish security forces tried to disperse a crowd on the Turkish side of the border, relatives of those Kurds who had fled the ISIL attacks, in protest, threw stones at the security forces, and the border was opened for Syrian Kurds to pass.

 Man recruiting for ISIL detected by police

Turkish police detected a top official of ISIL who recruited dozens of members to the extremist group roughly one year ago, Today’s Zaman has learned from police sources. Police sources told Today’s Zaman that the intelligence department of the National Police Department received an anonymous letter in March of last year claiming that a man identified as M.İ. was working with his team to recruit members from Ankara’s Hacıbayram neighborhood. According to the letter, the man recruited as many as 100 members to the terrorist ISIL in 2013. The man transferred the new ISIL members first to the southern cities of Hatay, Adana and Gaziantep, and then the members were later sent to Syria.

The intelligence department, after having received the letter, assigned a team of police officers to investigate the accuracy of the claims. As a result of the investigation, the police team found that M.İ. was actively recruiting members to ISIL from the Hacıbayram, Mamak, Keçiören and Sincan districts of Ankara.In addition, the team discovered that M.İ. mostly targeted the Alevi population of Ankara to recruit new members to ISIL. Besides the Alevi population, M.İ. recruited those who were unemployed or drug users or who had family problems. M.İ. allegedly promised to pay a monthly wage of $500 and $1,000 if they agreed to join ISIL.

However, the team was unable to carry on its intelligence activities against ISIL in Turkey after most of its members were reassigned or removed from the police force in the aftermath of the Dec. 17, 2013 corruption and bribery investigations. A high-level police official told Today’s Zaman that the Turkish police have been unable to work against terrorist groups, including ISIL, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) and al-Qaeda, since the graft investigations.“Terrorist groups are taking advantage of the inability of the police to fight them. They are recruiting more members every day,” the official stated.

 CHP asks for number of ISIL terrorists treated in Turkey

ISIL terrorists have been claimed, in various reports that have appeared in the local and foreign media outlets in past months, to be given support by Turkey, although the claim has been denied by the government a number of times. ISIL terrorist fighting in Syria have also been claimed to have been treated in hospitals in Turkey. Based on all these reports, Sezgin Tanrıkulu, deputy chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), recently submitted a parliamentary question in which he demanded to know how many members or sympathizers of ISIL had been arrested by the Turkish security forces so far. In his question to be answered by Interior Minister Efkan Ala, Tanrıkulu also demanded to know how many wounded ISIL terrorists had received treatment in Turkey and how many of them had been arrested. Two young men wearing T-shirts emblazoned with an ISIL flag were videoed while traveling on a tram in İstanbul. According to reports in the Turkish media on Thursday, the two young men looked like ISIL terrorists with their attire.

 ISIL smuggling livestock

In addition to the smuggling of oil, smuggling livestock from Syria to Turkey is claimed to be one of the means through which ISIL finances itself. According to a report on the Karşı news portal on Friday, the number of livestock smuggled each month across the border is as high as 15,000. As the livestock smuggled are being marketed in Turkey, according to the report, without going through any health check of animals, the issue also poses a serious health risk.

The livestock bought from various countries are being taken over by members of ISIL at the Syrian port city of Lazkiye, the report said. “The livestock can easily be taken over the [Turkish] border, which is very easy to pass illegally,” the report said. According to the report, those who have found out about the smuggling believe the government turns a blind eye to the smuggling to keep meat prices, which are already high compared with many countries, from rising. http://www.todayszaman.com/national_turkey-in-state-of-alarm-against-isil-attacks-in-big-cities_359278.html